Brittiläinen understatement asettuu usein jonnekkin kohteliaisuuden ja vittuilun välimaastoon.
"Understatement is still in the air. It is not just a speciality of the English sense of humour; it is a way of life. When gales uproot trees and sweep away roofs of houses, you should remark that it is 'a bit blowy.' I have just been listening to a man who got lost in a forest abroad for a week and was scrutinised by hungry wolves, smacking their lips. Was he terrified? - asked the television interviewer, obviously a man of Italian origin. The man replied that on the seventh day, when there were no rescuers in sight and the sixth hungry wolf joined the pack, he 'got a bit worried.' Yesterday, a man in charge of a home where 600 old people lived, which was found to be a fire risk where all the inhabitants might burn to death, admitted: 'I may have a problem.'"
(George Mikes, How to Be a Brit. Penguin, 1986)
Understatementin tunnistaa yleensä siitä, että käytetään laatusanoja "bit", "rather" tai "quite."